The largest Christian denomination, the Roman Catholic Church, teaches that, while games of chance aren't intrinsically evil (ie running an MC simulation), and low stakes gambling is allowed (raffle), gambling must be
- fair. That's obvious
- even odds for all participants
Presumably, no house advantage
- not be pathological
You cannot play if you're addicted to gambling, have an addictive personality, or often that an addiction could arise
- not involve very high stakes as the money would have been better spent on the poor
No $10 000/hand table.
Including GaTech, a top5 eng school, that requires an A average to get in.
Source: dealing with undergrads complaining about their grades and their effect on their scholarship.
EDIT: I agree with what you maybe claiming that "education" does not justify legal gambling. And you're certainly right that most states abuse this argument and the fungible nature of money to just slosh money around.
EDIT: the lotto money is put in a fund that goes to pre-K programs and scholarships. The average required to keep the scholarship is set by the fund's size.